As public health awareness increases and household consumption upgrades, indoor air quality has become an important indicator of the safety of the living environment.
As an indispensable basic material for home decoration, the amount of formaldehyde released by artificial panels is directly related to indoor air quality, which in turn affects the health of family members.
On June 1, GB 18580-2025 “Limits of Formaldehyde Release in Artificial Panels and Products of Interior Decoration Materials” will be fully implemented, with stricter requirements on the formaldehyde release of artificial panels and their products.
In this context, on March 31, the 2026 High-Quality Development Conference of the Major Home Furnishing Industry and the 3.15 Green Consumption Action, hosted by the China Forest Products Industry Association and co-organized by the China Environmental Protection Industry Association, were held in Beijing.
The conference closely grasped the opportunity of the implementation of the new national standards for artificial panels and jointly explored practical paths for green growth in the industry to meet the people’s expectations for “good houses”.
Man-made panels are mainly made of artificial forest resources and renewable, degradable, and recyclable biomass resources as raw materials.
“Unlike some European and American countries that generally use solid wood as basic household materials, my country, as a large developing country with a population of 1.4 billion, has important strategic significance in developing the artificial panel industry when its forest resources are relatively limited.” said Zhang Zhongtao, a professor-level senior engineer at the Industrial Development Planning Institute of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
Today, our country has become the largest country in the production and consumption of artificial panels.
Data show that in 2024, my country’s artificial panel output will exceed 340 million cubic meters, and the product output value will reach 785 billion yuan.
In the production of artificial boards, sizing is a crucial link, which directly affects the quality and performance of the boards.
Due to the convenient sources of raw materials, relatively simple synthesis process, and high bonding strength, urea-formaldehyde resin adhesives currently occupy about 90% of the market share.
However, urea-formaldehyde resin adhesives will leave formaldehyde residues during the synthesis process.
As one of the main pollutants in indoor air, the amount of formaldehyde released has attracted much attention from consumers.
How to scientifically control formaldehyde release?
The establishment of a standard system has become key.
Zhou Hongsheng, president of the China Forest Products Industry Association, said: “my country’s formaldehyde emission limit standard system for artificial panels has closely followed people’s livelihood needs and technological progress, and has gone through three landmark stages.” In 2001, the mandatory national standard GB 18580-2001 “Interior Decoration and Renovation Materials”
“Formaldehyde Release Limits in Artificial Panels and Their Products” systematically established the formaldehyde release limits of artificial panels for the first time, and established a grading system of E1 level (≤1.5mg/L) and E2 level, marking the formaldehyde release of artificial panels entering the era of quantitative control.
In the upgrade stage, the revised mandatory standard GB 18580-2017 cancels the E2 level, requires all products to reach the E1 level, and tightens the limit to ≤0.124mg/m3.
In the deepening stage of grading, marked by the recommended national standard GB/T 39600-2021, a new ENF level (≤0.025mg/m3) has been added; the group standard T/CNFPIA 3002-2024 “Formaldehyde-free Artificial Panels and Products” further strictly controls the formaldehyde release limit to ≤0.020mg/m3.
The mandatory national standard GB 18580-2025, which will be officially implemented on June 1, has taken a bigger step based on the previous standard – implementing graded control of artificial boards and products for the first time.
According to Fu Yuejin, director of the National Quality Inspection and Testing Center for Artificial Panels and Wood and Bamboo Products, E1 level (≤0.124mg/m3) is suitable for artificial panel products such as plywood and particleboard; E0 level (≤0.050mg/m3) is suitable for products made of artificial panels as the main material, including decorative artificial panels, wooden floors, wooden doors, etc.
“By delineating the classification boundaries between base materials and end products, we not only clarify the scope of supervision, but also promote the industry to ensure that the environmental performance of end products meets the requirements.” Fu Yuejin said.
In addition to more detailed classification, the new national standard also plugs loopholes in detection methods.
For example, in the sample preparation process, the rules for calculating the splicing, edge sealing and exposed area of wooden doors, windows, hollow particleboards, etc. were clarified; the balancing processing time was compressed from the original 15±2 days to 168±3 hours, effectively avoiding the testing agency’s operating space to use the time difference to “skid the ball”.
“The new national standards must be implemented from June 1, and there is no exemption for production dates.” Fu Yuejin emphasized that enterprises that meet the standards can change the standards for sales in advance. It is illegal to continue to produce and sell products that do not meet the mandatory new national standards.
“The release of the new national standard is not only an upgrade of indicators, but also reflects a change in the development logic of the industry.” Guo Xingtian, vice president of the China Environmental Protection Industry Association and chairman of Wanhua Ecological Group, believes that green development is being upgraded from a “tough issue” of pollution prevention and control in the past to a “main track” for stimulating economic growth.
When green and low-carbon become the “standard configuration” of the manufacturing industry, the companies that are the first to complete the transformation will take the lead in the new round of competition.
In recent years, with the continuous upgrading of environmental protection standards, my country’s wood-based panel industry has accelerated the elimination of backward production capacities, and a number of production capacities that do not meet environmental emission standards and have backward production technologies have withdrawn one after another.
Data show that in 2024, the number of artificial panel manufacturers in my country has dropped to more than 8,600, a decrease of more than 7,400 from more than 16,000 in 2020.
At the same time, market resources are gradually converging on companies that strictly adhere to the bottom line of safety and environmental protection and have core technological advantages, promoting my country’s artificial panel industry to open up new tracks with technological innovation and accelerating its transformation to a green and low-carbon direction.
On the raw material side, break the sole dependence on wood.
Panjin City in Liaoning Province is known as the “Wetland Capital”, with an annual reed production of about 500,000 tons.
Zhang Bingkun, chairman of Liaoning Jijia New Material Technology Co., Ltd., said that the company’s R&D team made full use of the characteristics of reed to produce reed panels.
“Reed is an aquatic plant with good toughness. The boards made of it are excellent in waterproofing, moisture-proof, deformation resistance, and environmental protection.” Zhang Bingkun said, “Bamboo has outstanding advantages such as fast growth, fast afforestation and renewal, and strong carbon sequestration ability.” The company now has factories in Panjin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hunan and other places.
Qianqianzhou New Material Technology Group Co., Ltd. has set its sights on bamboo. Chairman Lu Tonghua said that the company actively explores and develops bamboo resources, conducts research on bamboo shaving shape preparation and equipment development, and adhesive adaptation technology, and prepares bamboo oriented strand boards with excellent performance.
On the product side, we are moving towards functionality and high-end.
Hengshui Bamailong Wood Industry Co., Ltd. uses the self-developed 100-inch innovative process to significantly enhance the anti-deformation performance of artificial boards; the formaldehyde emission of “angel board” is ≤0.007mg/m3, making it the preferred material for children’s rooms, confinement centers and other scenes.
Zhejiang Shenghua Yunfeng New Materials Co., Ltd. has developed “bean board” made of “soybean-based formaldehyde-free adhesive”, “super solid wood multi-layer board” with green production process, and “plant source fragrance release board” relying on long-lasting and slow-release fragrance-release impregnated adhesive film paper preparation technology.
The deeper change lies in the transition of business model – from a green material supplier to a solution service provider.
Wanhua Hexiang Group Co., Ltd.’s core product “Hexiang Board” uses short-cycle annual agricultural and forestry residues as the main raw material and uses polyurethane ecological adhesive.
In addition to green panels, Wanhua Hexiang Group Co., Ltd. also demonstrated its entire industry chain green building materials layout at the 2026 Guangzhou Customized Home Furnishing Exhibition held recently.
“We not only sell a single product, but also focus on ‘space-free aldehyde’ to become a supplier of formaldehyde-free decoration system materials.” said Song Yunfeng, executive chairman of the company.
From expanding raw materials to launching multi-functional boards, the company’s innovative practices ultimately point to the same goal – to allow consumers to live in “good houses.”
This year’s “Government Work Report” clearly states: “Promote the construction of safe, comfortable, green and smart ‘good houses’ in an orderly manner, and implement housing quality improvement projects and property service quality improvement actions.” This points out the direction for high-quality development of the industry.
“The per capita housing area in China’s urban areas has increased from 6.7 square meters in 1978 to 41.8 square meters in 2024. ‘Having a place to live’ has been basically realized, and the core needs of consumers are shifting from ‘whether there is a house’ to ‘whether the house is good.’” Chen Yiming, president of the China Real Estate Association, said that for every 100 square meters of residential housing, the use area of artificial panels is about 60 to 75 square meters.
Against the background of the further advancement of the national “double carbon” goal, the continuous tightening of environmental protection standards, and the accelerated popularization of green consumption concepts, green artificial panel products have continued to be launched.
But the house is a whole.
Chen Yiming pointed out that there are still shortcomings in the current decoration process such as incomplete parts and poor connections between different artificial panels.
Guo Xingtian pointed out the real concerns of consumers: “Currently, of the 440 million housing stock in my country, 270 million are more than 20 years old. It’s not that consumers don’t want to renovate, but they are afraid of formaldehyde, long construction periods, and trouble.”
The pain point is where we should focus our efforts.
Chen Yiming pointed out: “Enterprises must not only make a ‘good board’, but also a ‘complete set of good boards’, that is, develop prefabricated decoration – prefabricating home decoration parts in the factory in advance, then transporting them to the construction site, and using dry construction methods to assemble them to reduce on-site wet work. This is beneficial to the safety, comfort, and greenness of a ‘good house’.”
It’s very helpful.”
Guo Xingtian said: “Artificial panels are the foundation of home furnishings, and green is the foundation of the large home furnishing industry.
Enterprises must develop new-quality productivity, promote ‘green industrialized customization’, and make consumers ‘dare to consume and willing to consume’, and fully activate the existing housing renewal market.”
Technological innovation still has a long way to go.
Lu Yan, Director of the Development Research Center and Director of the Research Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, pointed out that consumers’ health awareness is shifting from “passive health” to “active health”, and “healthy home” has moved from optional consumption to rigid demand.
The design of the house should not just stop at the visual level, but also revolve around science to meet the needs of healthy living.
As Yu Zhiming, a professor at Beijing Forestry University, said: “After ‘low-aldehyde’ and ‘no-aldehyde’, there are new topics. Not only should there be no formaldehyde, but there should also be no odor, and even solve health care problems, and continue to meet consumers’ high-quality living needs.”
